


Concordance

by FoxVII



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: M/M, Slow Burn, Technobabble, au after 3x07, julian joins team flash, spoilers for 3x07 and beyond
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-06
Updated: 2016-12-22
Packaged: 2018-09-06 22:57:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8772700
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FoxVII/pseuds/FoxVII
Summary: Really, there was no reason for Barry to feel surprise. Julian Albert was the one, new person to appear in his life post-Flashpoint; someone who Barry had never known, never met beforehand. By default that marked him as one of the people whose lives had been thoroughly and irreparably changed by his bought of time travel. All the same, it didn't stop the shock, the sorrow, at seeing now-familiar blond hair and angry eyes. Barry should have seen it. He should have known.
 Barry learns of Julian's identity as Alchemy. As can be predicted, he tries to help.AU After 3x07.





	1. One

The mask had come off.

Really, there was no reason for Barry to feel surprise. Julian Albert was the one, _new_ person to appear in his life post-Flashpoint; someone who Barry had never known, never _met_ beforehand. By default that marked him as one of the people whose lives had been thoroughly and irreparably changed by his bought of time travel.

All the same, it didn't stop the shock, the _sorrow,_ at seeing now-familiar blond hair and angry eyes. Barry should have seen it. He should have _known._

They fought, of course.

The ground under Barry's feet turned to sludge, liquefying then solidifying, neatly encasing his leg in cement. A choice frequency of vibration freed Barry from being permanently one with the pavement. Julian bent the world to his will, selecting one property and turning it into another.

 _Alchemy._ It made sense.

But, it wasn’t Julian was it? Not really. There was a stiffness in his movements, a glassiness in his eyes. Like Frankie Kane, Julian didn’t seem to be truly... _himself._ It was a sharp, barking call of his name that cut through the fog in his mind, rendering the man off-balance...but no less dangerous. Julian’s hands stayed in the air, ready to strike again, even without the full awareness - or perhaps understanding - of _how_ to control his abilities.

Barry spoke. "Stop. You don't have to do this. This isn't what you want."

"Oh? Enlighten me, Flash,” the name was spat out like an insult. “What is it that I want?"

"To do good.” Barry responds, instantly. "To help people. To _save_ them. You told me that yourself, Julian."

There was a flicker of surprise. "How do you..?"

 _"Barry..."_ Joe's tinny voice growled at him from the earpiece, but as the cowl was pushed from his head, so was the detective’s good advice.

"Because I know you."

" _Allen_ ?" the shock in Julian's voice was mildly gratifying. Perhaps Barry was a better liar than he gave himself credit for. (Although, of all his traits, _dishonesty_ wasn't the one for which he should have been rightly patting himself on the back.)

Julian's hands wavered, but given that there were no additional projectiles being thrown his way, Barry took that as a good sign. Barry pressed the advantage. "Yeah, me. What was that you told me in the lab that day? That most metas squander their power? That it's a crime and a waste?"

Barry took a cautious few steps forward, lightly toeing around the spots of the ground that looked either weakened with cracks, or bubbling noxiously.

"Stay back."

Not for the first time that night, Barry ignored the warning. "Look at everything you can do, Julian," he said, waving a hand to indicate the chaos. "And not just with _things_ but with people too. You can find something within someone, something that makes them special and bring it out." A short, burst of a laugh. "That's amazing."

There was a semblance of a smile. It helped to hide the nerves. "You're amazing," he adds, softly. Barry chalked up the ensuing, gasping choke from Julian as a small victory. "It doesn't have to be like this, you know. You're better than this."

"You don't understand, Allen." Julian's tone was sharp. Clipped. His eyes flicked to the side, checking, fearful.

"Savitar, right?" As always, Barry softened with the sympathy, with the _understanding_. "We can help you."

"No." Julian shook his head. "You can't. No one can. He's _everywhere_ , don't you understand?"

"If he were he'd be here by now, wouldn't he? Every power has its limits. We'll figure it out. We can keep you safe. You can help _us_ , even. We can work together. And it’s gonna be okay."

Barry shrugged his shoulders, throwing his arms wide. "You said before that you didn't trust me because I was hiding something. Well, this is it. This is me. Barry Allen. The Flash. That's it.” Another shrug and his arms came back down to rest on his sides. “Everything else is real, and I _want_ to help you. But I can't do that if you don't let me."

Barry took another step forward and held out his hand. "Choose what kind of hero you want to be, Julian. And let me help you be that person."

For a prolonged moment no one moved. Finally, shaking hands were lowered as shoulders slumped in defeat. Barry huffed softly in relief and, in a blink, the battlefield was empty.

***

Convincing Julian to be treated by Caitlin was another battle entirely but, as was the status quo for the evening, Julian relented in the end.

They found something of a neural transponder, hidden away on the back of Julian's neck, obscured by blond hair. Flesh-coloured and soft, they would have missed it entirely were it not for Cisco's clever scans and Caitlin's sharp eyes. It explained how Savitar was seemingly able to find Julian regardless of the circumstances, and how he could communicate with him with a voice resounding in his head.

It was HR who (helpfully) pointed out that, with the transponder gone, Savitar would be alerted and, "No doubt start looking for his favourite pet" However, when the days and weeks went by and there was no attack on S.T.A.R. Labs, Team Flash remembered how to breathe again.

No one thought that things would remain in this liminal state. The next conflict with Savitar lurked in everyone’s minds like an angry dark cloud hanging on the horizon. It wasn’t necessarily a good thing that the prospect of having to again fight for their city and their Earth had become commonplace, but...it was their new normal, and it was as good as it was ever going to be.

Caitlin still struggled with her powers and Cisco still refused to be in the same room as Barry. Julian wasn’t let out of anyone’s sight for any length of time (which was trying for all parties involved). Iris stayed steadfast and for that Barry was thankful. He loved her, even if he was beginning to realize that he wasn’t _in_ love with her.

Thankfully, she realized it too.

***

Gideon wasn’t going to make herself.

If Barry was destined to invent a supercomputer in the future, then there was no better time than now: while he was both living and working at S.T.A.R. Labs. He had moved himself out of Cisco’s apartment without having been asked. There was no sense in forcing his presence on someone who could barely stand to look at him. Barry clung to the hope that things would work out between them. For now, Cisco was allowed his time to grieve, and he was allowed his anger.

Julian found Barry in, what had become, his combined bedroom and laboratory. “You own this?” he asked.

“Huh?” Barry looked up from his work. One hand rested on a switchboard of wires while the other on the keyboard of the computer sitting just beside it. He blinked rapidly, trying to yank his mind from mathematical equations to the territory of conversation. “Oh, you mean S.T.A.R. Labs?”

A nod.

“Yeah. Uh, Harrison Wells...or, uh, _this_ Earth’s Harrison Wells - who was actually Eobard Th-, uh, that part doesn’t matter - left it behind. To me. When he confessed to my mom’s murder.”

“How are you affording to run it, given that--”

“Given that you made me quit the CCPD?” Barry asked, with a grin.

Julian winced. “Yes, I’ve been meaning to apologize for that.”

Barry shook his head. “No. I think...you were right. _Barry Allen_ has no place in law enforcement.” He shrugs and glances around his workroom. Motherboards and wires lay in haphazard piles strewn around the room. Programming and bioengineering reference texts covered the rest.

It felt... _right_ even if it wasn't his original dream.

“This? I think this is how things are supposed to be.”

“Living in a laboratory?”

“Working,” Barry corrected. “Making things, building things...I can make the world better. Not just as The Flash, but as Barry.” He looked over his little den and nodded. “Yeah.”

For a moment, silence reigned.

Julian broke it first. "May I ask you something?" he asked.

"Hm? You never asked for permission before," Barry noted. “Yeah, sure. Go ahead.”

"If you're The Flash then how is it that you're late. _Constantly_?"

"I...it's a ruse. No one would expect the fastest man alive to be late for everything, right?" Barry hedged. He got only a raised eyebrow in response from Julian, an expression which said, in no uncertain terms, 'I'm not convinced'.

"I..." A sigh. "I like to sleep."

A short, sharp snort. "Honestly?"

"I procrastinate, alright? I always did. And getting super speed just meant that could hit the snooze button more often, especially since I know I can blast through the rest of my morning. Okay, you didn't say you wanted a good answer," Barry said, throwing his arms up in the air. The wheels of his chair creaked as his weight shifted with the motion.

“I’ll be sure to specify next time,” Julian said, dryly.

“Next time, yeah.”

After that, things went back to ‘normal’. ‘Normal’ lasted all of one week.

Then the Dominators landed.


	2. Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, wow! I really didn't expect such a reaction to my little nonsense here. >///< To everyone who left a kudos/comment: thank you so very much! I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint!
> 
> In other news: tfw canon does what you want it to do and the exact opposite, all at once. Aaah! I will never stop being conflicted about 3x09. This fic is _definitely_ AU after 3x07.

The door to Barry's lab-turned-bedroom slammed open and Julian stormed in, a swirl of gray wool and a silver-and-green scarf. The weather was getting cooler these days.

"Heey, Julian! Hi, how've y--"

"You! You were going to give yourself up? To aliens?"

Barry winced. "Uh. Yeah? Seemed like a good idea at the time. Kind of a no-brainer, really. I leave and so do the super-advanced aliens that were, you know, landing all over the planet?"

"And then what?"

"Then they'd leave?" Barry was leaned all the way back to put some space between him and the other man. The wheeled chair creaked dangerously under him.

Julian took a breath, resting a hand on the silvery lab bench while the other pinched the bridge of his nose. "Even if they were to leave, what would happen to Central City? Crime would rise overnight, you know. The moment that people realized that The Flash was gone, they'd take the advantage to do as they pleased. And that, my friend, applies to just the normal criminals in Central City. I don't need to tell you what those with abilities would do, especially not the unfriendly ones."

"Well, when you put it like tha--"

"Maybe I will tell you since you obviously didn’t think things through."

Barry took a second to roll his eyes. The concern was all well and good but he would have appreciated having been able to finish at least one of his sentences.

"Those who wanted to take over the city would recruit followers," Julian said, pacing.

The words ' _ like you did? _ ' were on the tip of Barry's tongue but he held them back. It wasn't really Julian who had gathered those acolytes and having a meta like Savitar looming around made for a pretty good motivator to join any kind of group, no matter now cultish.

"The reckless ones would take to the streets immediately, harassing civilians left and right. It’s the more organized ones you’d need to worry about. Those are the ones who’ll  _ really _ cause problems."

"Julian..."

He turned back around to deliver the final blow. "Central City in flames."

Barry winced. "That's a bit dramatic, don't you think?"

"I prefer the term realistic," Julian countered, with a slight lift of his chin.

"Didn't know you cared," Barry said, with a grin.

"I care for my home, Allen. And I still stand by what I said before. The Flash's presence has made law enforcement in this city complacent. Whether you like it or not, people here depend on you. You can't simply up and vanish."

"There are others like me, people who were fighting  _ with me _ who would've taken care of Central City," Barry explained, calmly. "People like Joe and Caitlin and Cisco and Wally."

"None of whom have either the experience or abilities to do what The Flash does.” Julian paused, sighed softly and tried again. Softer. Calmer. “All I want to say, Allen, is that people don't need a martyr. What they need is you. Alive. Can you understand that?"

Barry tightened his jaw and looked away, nodding. "Yeah. I get it. I'll...be more careful."

"Okay...good." A terse silence and then, "Cheers, mate."

 

***

 

Her heels clicked against the tile as she walked along. Iris extended a hand to tap her knuckles against the door to CCPD's laboratory. "Hey, Julian? Do you have a minute?" She took a step forward. "I know, strictly speaking, I'm not supposed to be in here but..."

Julian looked up from his work. "Hm? I suppose it doesn’t matter now. Allen's had you in here often enough. Please, sit, Ms. West."

Iris laughed softly. "You don't have to bend the rules for me. I was thinking we could take a walk, maybe? Grab coffee? It's such a nice day." That it was. The sun was bright and the air was warm despite the snow which yet coated the trees and ground. A rare winter's day. 

She watched as Julian looked down at his papers, presumably debating the pros and cons of joining her. Finally he stood, reaching for his coat. “Sure.”

"You still haven't moved his things..." Iris noted, glancing at where Barry's desk sat, yet untouched from the day he left. She looked back in time to see a flicker of regret in Julian's eyes. 

Quickly she added, "He's happy."

"Is he? He wanted to be a CSI. He mentioned as much...once." Julian shrugged on his coat, tugging on the ends of the scarf until they hung evenly.

"Yeah, because he wanted to  _ help  _ people, Julian. And he's doing that now. In more ways than he ever could have imagined. He's happy, and that's all that matters to me. Besides, Barry doesn't hold grudges. Don't worry. C'mon," she extended an arm out to him, leading the way out of the precinct. 

The breeze nipped at her knees and tugged at the hem of her dress. It was cold, just enough to straddle the territory between 'comfortably cool' and 'genuinely chilly'.

"So? How are you adjusting? Good? I know this can be really overwhelming...probably worse for you since," Iris only shrugged and waved a hand around. There was only so much she could vocalize on Central City's crowded streets. 

Julian picked his words carefully. "It’s better than it was before, so thank you for that." 

Iris flicked her wrist. "That was all Barry,” she said, dismissively. She shook her head. “Wow, and then on top of  _ everything _ you got to deal with aliens, huh?" 

“Oh? Is the press going with the truth then?” Julian asked, wryly.

Iris laughed. “Well, it’s a bit hard to cover up an alien ship landing in the middle of Central City...Not to mention the Arrow coming for a visit, or people in flying suits, and the one girl that can fly around  _ without _ a suit.” Iris shook her head. “I guess this city’s a bit used to craziness at this point.”

Julian hummed his acknowledgement and the conversation lapsed into inane chitchat about the weather as they got their Jitters coffee. An icicle dripped water onto the shoulder of Julian’s coat. 

“So, Julian...I wanted to ask you for a favour,” Iris asked, finally. They were taking a slow walk through Central City’s sprawling park. At midday, it was relatively quiet save for a few other pairs taking a stroll over their lunch break, or the determined joggers puttering around in their leggings. “It’s about Wally,” she said, carefully.

Julian heaved a sigh and Iris could see his jaw tighten from the corner of her eye. “You want me to take away his powers?”

“Well...yes.” Before Julian could answer, Iris launched into her reasoning. “I mean, I  _ know _ he loves having his speed but...He’s still just a  _ kid _ and he’s so...He can be really reckless, at times. I just…” Iris shook her head, dark hair flying with the motion. “I just want him to be  _ safe. _ ”

Julian went silent, again, carefully organizing his words. “I understand your concern, Miss West,”

“Iris, please.”

“ _ Iris. _ But...even if I were consciously aware of  _ how _ I did what I did...I wouldn’t take away Wally’s powers.”

“ _ What? _ ”

“Please try to understand. I’ve had the same discussion with Doctor Snow. If I were more...aware of what I can do, if I could  _ control _ it, I’d do what I could for her, but only because, for Caitlin, her abilities are a hindrance. They’re a  _ detriment _ to her. However, with no real idea of how, or what I do...I could very will kill her if I tried to do something now.”

“As for Wally...he’s, as you say, ‘a good kid’. He’s talented, intelligent, and his speed doesn’t hurt him in the same way they hurt Caitlin...well, nothing aside from the usual hypoglycemia of all speedters. Everything that he lacks: the caution, mindfulness, responsibility,  _ patience _ ...it can easily be learned, over time.  He has Allen’s help. What he needs is his sister’s support.”

Annoyance flared. “Excuse me?”

Julian held up a hand. “You adore your brother, that much is clear. You care for him deeply and you want nothing more than to be safe. But Wally...he wants so much to help and protect you, and everyone else. He’ll continue to use his powers with or without your approval and one day he’ll hurt himself doing so. So wouldn’t it be better to  _ know  _ where he is and what he’s doing? You won’t be able to stop him, Iris, and I won’t help you try.”

“Wally has the potential to do as much good for the city as The Flash has. I won’t deprive Central City of another positive influence...or Barry of the help that he needs to keep doing what he does.”

Julian looked down thoughtfully at his coffee cup. “Thank you for the walk, Iris, and the coffee,” he said, holding up the paper cup meaningfully. “If I may be excused, there’s a backlog of reports I still need to complete.”


	3. Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, wow! I really didn't think I was going to keep up with the momentum here but, thank you so, so much to everyone who cared to leave a kudos! And a big, extra-special thank you to everyone who commented! Reading your nice words really give me the confidence and motivation to keep writing. You're all amazing, mwah~!
> 
> Also, my apologies for the delay. I was planning on having regular Tuesday drops but...Well. Life. However! This chapter is about twice as long as my usual fare, hopefully to make up for the fact that I'm on holidays next week and likely won't be able to make a Tuesday delivery then either. 
> 
> At any rate, happy holidays, everyone! Please enjoy and stay safe.
> 
> And now, to the chapter!

With Barry no longer working at the CCPD it became  _ fractionally _ more difficult for the team to collect samples from crime scenes, or analyze the meta-human traces left behind. While Joe had always been the team’s hand in the force it wasn’t always feasible for him to retrieve evidence, not when his affiliation with The Flash was supposed to be something of a secret.

Julian quickly filled that gap, though it would always be up for debate whether it was by choice or not. No one doubted his willingness to  _ help _ and be of some good...but Barry Allen could also be quite the pest when he set his mind to it.

In the end, it was likely a bit of both.

Thus it came to be that Julian Albert made frequent - however discrete - trips to S.T.A.R Labs, often bearing information which, legally speaking, had no business being outside the walls of the precinct.

Occasionally the pursuit of justice required a certain bending of the rules...and this was the cause of no end of internal conflict for Julian.

Such was life.

"I finished analyzing the samples from the crime scene," Julian said one day, striding into the cortex. Barry looked up from his computer screen peering through the glass walls of the adjacent room.

"Yeah? What did you find?" Barry asked as he rose from his seat. The rolling chair slid away with the harsh whirr of plastic wheels on tile.

"No finger marks to speak of, unfortunately. While there's significant bruising on the victim, enough to suggest a struggle, there's no blood under the fingertips, no dead skin from his assailant, not even a stray hair."

"So no DNA that we can analyze and nothing that might lead us to our meta," Barry summarized with a frown. He crossed his arms and looked to the side, presumably planning the next step, all without a lead.

Julian grinned. "Well now, I didn't say  _ that _ ." The flicker of hope on Barry’s face was almost cute. Julian smirked and walked over to the console, plugging in a USB stick to one of the open ports. "Take a look at this.”

A 3D model of a molecule appeared on the far television monitors. Barry turned to scrutinize it. "What's ‘this’?" Barry asked.

"I'm not entirely sure," Julian admitted. "It's an unknown compound I found on the victim's clothes and skin. It's highly volatile. There was little trace of it when I first did the analysis and even less when I went back for a second sample. It has a half-life of less than six hours."

"You think this belongs to our meta?" Barry asked, looking back over his shoulder at Julian.

"Either that or it was something he or she used on the deceased," Julian replied. "The rate of deterioration corresponds with the time of death. The victim encountered these mystery molecules around when he died."

"Going by the proportions of carbon and hydrogen it looks like it's some kind of metal," Barry noted, crossing his arms as he frowned at the projection.

"That was my guess as well. There were no lacerations to indicate that anything with a blade had been used against him. The bruising suggested blunt force trauma, likely from a powerful, physical blows. My guess is that he was throttled to death," Julian added.

Barry nodded, giving the molecule one last look before he turned to Julian. "Thanks, this is really helpful."

"Of course.” A smug grin. “I have a few more tests I can run, actually,” he said, rocking on his heels. “Speaking of, I should head back before people start to realize that I've joined the vigilante business," Julian finished, jerking his thumb over his shoulder to indicate the cortex’s wide doors.

The sound of Barry’s voice stopped him before he could reach it.

"Actually if you could stay for a bit longer I'd actually like to talk about you for a little bit. That is, if you’re not  _ too _ busy..." Barry said, with as much forced nonchalance as he could muster.

"Me?"

"Yeah. I've been thinking about you a lot lately--"

Julian turned faintly pink. "Oh?"

"--about your powers," Barry continued, unaware.

" _ Oh _ ." Irrational disappointment warred with curiosity. Curiosity came out victorious. Julian crossed his arms and tilted his head to the side. "What about them?"

"Well, I've been reading up on old stories about alchemy - the pseudo-science, not the person - and I think I have a better idea of how your powers might work and how I can help you. I mean, if you wanted...?"

Julian had done his own reading, of course. He said as much, adding, "But I'd like to hear your ideas. Compare them to mine."

Barry grinned. "Alright, great. So, the art of alchemy was all about change, right? Turning base metals, like lead, into noble metals, like gold. There was a whole spiritual aspect to it as well, which might lead us to how you could unlock powers in people. But I'll get to that later. Anyway, to convert matter from one form to another, you need, what?"

"Energy," Julian responded.

"Exactly! So, the old alchemists decided that they needed something to draw that energy from. A power source. So, my thought was that, in this case, you yourself are the power source, using your body's own energy to make the change."

"Sounds about right and that's what I'd assumed myself."

"Yeah but, I don't think that's right."

"No?"

"No. You see, a couple of months ago we came across this meta with super strength. Sounds like a great deal but, the problem was that he was using his own body's energy every time he used his powers. So, each time, he was draining himself...and that manifested itself as rapid aging."

A sad frown creased Julian's brows. "That's...terrible. What finally happened to him?"

Barry's eyes flickered with momentary sadness. "He died. But...that's why I don't think you're drawing the energy from yourself. If you were, you wouldn't be," Barry gestured vaguely in Julian's direction. "Y'know. Still good looking."

"Uh, thank you?" The confusion was evident and the blush had returned. Julian cleared his throat and tried to focus. "Ah, so, if I'm not the source then what--?" Julian cut himself off as it dawned. "A transducer."

Barry smiled brightly. "Exactly. Instinctively, you're taking energy from  _ something else _ to exact a change. Converting matter by converting energy. Light into heat, chemical to kinetic or whatever it happens to be. That's why, I think, when you were fighting me, you were just changing the  _ state _ of things around you. Innately you would’ve known that it'd be the easiest conversion to make."

Julian nodded. "Of course. I was disrupting the bonds between molecules as opposed to adding or removing electrons."

"Yeah! So now that I have a better idea of how you work, I think I know how to help you. You...you've been trying on your own, haven't you? I know you have, I've seen you."

Julian dipped his head in a grudging admission, but peeked back up a moment later. “You could’ve just said you were there...I did feel someone watching me.”

“I... didn’t want to disturb you,” Barry answered. He shifted his footing, looked at his sneakers and then back up at the wall just behind Julian’s head. “But, like I was saying, if - when you were practicing - you were trying to use your own body’s potential energy instead of taking, say, thermal energy from around you…”

Julian stared off at the wall just by  _ Barry’s _ head, his arms crossed as Barry’s were while he processed the new information. “I was, which meant that I was trying to siphon my own life, essentially, which of course wouldn’t be easy.” Bodies struggled to survive every day. They didn’t accept death lightly.

A veritable light bulb went off over Julian’s head. “ _ Of course _ ! So then if I...” He trailed off and finally made eye contact, a small smile playing at his lips. “Thank you, Allen. I have an idea of what I can try, now.”

Barry smiled and a shoulder rose and fell as he tried to play it off. “Yeah, no problem. Like I said before. I just want to help, and I know sometimes it’s useful to talk it out. Bounce ideas off and such.” Barry hesitated a moment before adding, “You know, you’re not so bad to work with when you’re not acting like a cranky cat.”

A laugh bubbled up from Julian’s chest. “A  _ what? _ ”

“Don’t try to deny it,” Barry responded, instantly. He tucked his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “But...This...it’s nice, right? Working together? It’s not so bad being my friend, is it?”

“Well, I wouldn’t say  _ that _ , exactly...but I guess it’s tolerable.”

Barry snorted, glancing away with a grin. “Okay,  _ tolerable _ . Yeah, I can work with that. Thanks again, Julian. With the case.”

“No problem.”

***

Chaos struck, as it was wont to do where Team Flash was concerned.

Cisco leaned into the mic, frowning at the red blips on the map of Central City which swirled on the screen in front of him. Upon hearing a crunch from the other side of the comms, he winced. “You okay buddy?”

Outside, Barry got to his feet. They had found their meta. Or perhaps more accurately, the meta had found the Flash. 

“Remember Tony Woodward?” Caitlin supplied. Her eyes flicked between the continuous stream of data coming from Barry’s suit, and the video feed.

_ "I don't think I'm ever gonna forget Tony Woodward," _ Barry groused as he picked himself up. Red lines spiked for a fraction of a second before leveling out again. Bless the Speedforce and it's accelerated healing properties.  _ "But I know where you're going with this," _ Barry said, as he zipped away from the meta in question to build up the needed velocity.

"Barry...I hate to be the one to say this but we also have reports of a fire at an apartment complex downtown and a robbery in-progress at Central City bank, main branch,” Cisco relayed.

_ "I'm going as fast as I can," _ Barry replied. 

Cisco glanced at the velocity monitor. "Weell..."

_ "You know what I mean!" _

"He needs help out there. Even The Flash can't be everywhere at once," Julian murmured. He'd been in S.T.A.R Labs when the original reports of meta activity had come in. With no real assigned 'station' he stood off to one side, watching the events unfold with a concerned furrow of his brow. 

"Hmm," HR twirled one ever-present drumstick like a baton as he spoke. "Who else do we know who could get out there to give Barry a hand with all of this and do it  _ fast _ ?" he mused, aloud. 

"Central City's fire department?" Joe answered, dryly. 

"I can go," Wally offered, undaunted by the clear disapproval radiating from his father.

"Wally we discussed this," Joe warned. 

"Dad..." Iris set a hand on Joe's arm, locking eyes. A silent battle of wills unfolded and it was almost more gripping than the actual battle streaming live from the traffic camera. 

Julian's eyes never left the screen. 

"Let him go."

"Dad I can  _ do _ this. I get that you're worried about me but I know I can help. I'm just as fast as Barry was when he was at my level in his training. Just...give me a chance. One." Wally held up a single finger as though to illustrate his point. 

"Dad," Iris added, softly. "If he wanted to go he could and none of us could stop him. He's  _ asking _ you instead." 

Joe sighed with the long-suffering sigh of a parent who's been outnumbered. His jaw worked as he surveyed each child in turn. "Fine. Go.  _ But be careful _ ."

Wally's smile could have lit a dark room. 

"So, just in case this worked out I maaaayy have made Wally a suit of his own. It's in my lab so--" Cisco didn't need to finish his sentence and papers fluttered in the wake of Wally’s departure. 

"Guys!" The sound of Caitlin's panic cut through like a sharp knife. 

Barry had flown right through the meta. 

"What the--?"

"He liquefied,” Julian explained, tersely. “The meta changes state. Solid to liquid, gas, plasma; whenever is required to fend off an attack. Allen!" Julian was over Caitlin's shoulder, twisting the flexible neck of the mic to face him. "You need to force him to stay in one state in order to land an attack."

_ "Yeah, I got that but  _ **_how_ ** _?"  _

Julian worried his lower lip. "Lunge at him again."

_ "Jules, I don't know if you saw, but it didn't exactly work the first time." _

Julian blinked at the nickname, but carried on, "Just do it!"

With a low growl which crackled over the comm, Barry complied. As before, he flew through the meta, skidding to a halt on the other side. 

Cisco saw it first. Or rather, he was the first to see what Julian had already surmised. "Barry the guy doesn't move when he's any state but solid. Get him to move then attack him before he can change back to something you can’t punch.  He's the Changer. State Changer. The..."

"Transitioner?" Julian suggested, dryly. 

"Oh, we're naming people now?"

"Wally's put out the fire," Caitlin informed, focused despite the fond smile pulling at her lips. A whoop of delight echoed over from Wally's end of the comm. 

"The robbery next. CCPD is already at the scene. Be careful," Joe said. 

_ "Yeah, I know," _ Wally responded, in that light sort of way that could only be born from having done the impossible, and helped people at the same time. 

"What's Allen  _ doing _ ?" Julian asked, frowning at the traffic camera feed. Barry was circling himself, again and again, like a dog chasing his tail. Only this time, the dog was leaving a trail of yellow-gold lightning in his wake. 

"Lightning Toss," Cisco answered. 

"Lightning what?" 

“You’ll see.”

Julian saw. In reality, it all happened in an instant but time seemed to slow as events unfolded. Some distant part of his mind logged it all as it happened.

Somewhere in the city, a team of bandits were disarmed, cuffed and delivered neatly into the back of the waiting police cruisers. 

Meanwhile, Barry reached around himself, his hand directing the trail of lightning outward, toward his target. 

_ Lightning. _ An electrostatic discharge. Essentially, a stream of (negatively-charged) electrons which flow to a (relatively) positively-charged target. 

"Well done, Kid Flash!" Iris said. Her voice sounded distant to Julian. Distorted, as though she were speaking through water. 

_ “Urgh, we  _ **_still_ ** _ going with  _ **_Kid Flash_ ** _?” _ Wally asked.

Transitioner seemed to grow, swell, puffing up, sparking with light as he shifted from solid, to liquid to gas, to a step further. 

_ Plasma. _ A state of matter acquired through the ionization of a gas. 

_ Ionization. _ The act of a gas gaining a charge, either positive or negative.

_ Like charges will always repel. _

“Barry  _ no _ !”

The lightning rebounded away from Transitioner, blasting towards Barry, striking him in the chest and knocking him back. 

It took Julian a moment to realize that the growing vibration that he felt - the pulse under his feet, the rocking of the room - was unrelated to the events unfolding on the screen. 

An explosion rumbled out from floors below, deep from within the belly of S.T.A.R Labs, knocking them all off their feet.


End file.
